


Revenge

by LovelyLadyLuck



Series: The Kallig Clan [5]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Trauma, Force Ghost(s), Gen, Ghosts, Implied/Referenced Torture, Loss of Parent(s), Minor Violence, Non-Graphic Violence, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Pregnancy, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:41:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27384355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLadyLuck/pseuds/LovelyLadyLuck
Summary: When word reaches the Kallig siblings of their sire's declining condition, they decide to pay him one final visit in order to get closure...and revenge.However, an unexpected visitor throws Lady Quinn, the eldest sibling, for a loop and brings with her a heartbreaking revelation.
Relationships: Female Sith Inquisitor & Female Sith Warrior, Malavai Quinn/Female Sith Warrior, Male Sith Inquisitor & Female Sith Warrior
Series: The Kallig Clan [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1846168
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This piece of angsty angst was inspired by the finale episode of The Tudors, where Henry VIII's first three wives show up to see their kids and tell Henry what a dick he is. It's fantastic, go watch it.
> 
> Trigger warnings for past rape, childhood abuse and neglect, slavery, violence against children, and generally awful things. Lord Irtaya is not a nice person.

Point in timeline: few months before KOTFE

Finlee strode through the familiar grand hallways of the Irtaya estate, flanked by her siblings. It had been over a decade since she had last set foot in the place, and nearly two since Danriss or Liara had seen it. She felt Liara’s unease, Danny’s growing anger, and reached out to both of them through their sibling bonds and sent tendrils of calm along the connections. The thick carpeting muffled the click of Liara’s heeled boots against the floor. In fact, the whole mansion was oppressively silent; all the normal noises, the bustling of droids and slaves moving about absent. She’d call the atmosphere tomblike, but Danriss would probably object, asserting that the tombs he’d been in were far more welcoming than the house where they’d spent their brief, turbulent childhoods. 

When they reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the master suite, Finlee paused and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. When she opened them, she saw Danriss offer her his arm, and took it with a grateful smile. Well into the second trimester of her pregnancy, stairs were difficult, but manageable with assistance. She’d have to stop wearing her long skirts completely eventually, once she could no longer see her feet past her belly, but the stress of this visit necessitated the familiar comfort of a dress. 

They paused again just outside the suite. Finlee reached out and grasped Liara’s hand, her sister squeezing tightly. She doubted Lord Irtaya would recognize Danriss and Liara; twenty years was a long time, and he had never paid them much attention anyhow. They were grown adults, twisted and hardened by the torturous lives they had led since Lord Irtaya had sold them to cover his shame; no longer the tiny, rail-thin children who had hidden behind her skirts and crawled into her bed to seek refuge from nightmares. She had changed, too. The change in her was perhaps subtler, but no less meaningful. The confidence she projected was no longer feigned, and leading came easy now. She still sometimes second guessed herself, but no longer did her doubts claw at her psyche or scream through her dreams.

She entered the suite alone first, her siblings waiting outside for her signal to enter. Lord Irtaya lay on the bed in the center of the room. Every breath rattled in and out of his body, and he was dwarfed by the grand trappings of the room, so different from the striking, intimidating figure he had once presented, and had made so many appearances in her nightmares. A single medical droid tended to him, and several monitors displayed data and beeped. She recognized a heart monitor, and a respirator. The skin of his face seemed shrunken, barely draped over his skull, and his hands were shriveled and skeletal as well. His skin, already pale, was nearly grey, and his fingers were nearly blue. What little she could make out of his body, buried under many layers of coverings, was gaunt and emaciated. The grand, powerful, terrifying man who had been her lord father was now nearly a living corpse.

Something clued him in to her presence, and his eyes slowly opened. So dark they were nearly black, they took a moment before the glazing over them disappeared and focused on her. They widened in surprise, and he struggled to sit upright. He proved too weak, and fell back onto the mattress. The droid moved to the side of the bed and pressed some control, and the bed moved into a more upright position.

Finlee said nothing, only stared at Lord Irtaya, eyes hard. She clasped her hands together behind her back and waited for him to speak. He was clearly trying, but his weak condition made it nearly impossible.

“Fi-Finlee?” he rasped, his voice a barely audible gasp. “You came? You’re here?”

She curled her lip in disgust. “I am. Of all the insults and abuses you hurled at me over the years, undutiful was never one you could wield with any accuracy.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “Finlee, I’m dying. Can we not put the past behind us? I know I haven’t been the best father to you, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t care.”

Finlee rolled her eyes and scoffed. “I’ll put the past behind me when I put you in the ground, my lord. I’ll give you the same care you gave me.”

He scowled at her, or tried to. The muscles in his face were so atrophied that he couldn’t. “How dare you, girl! I raised you! Gave you the best of everything! You have no right-”

She cut him off. “I have every right. And so do they.” she motioned for Danriss and Liara to enter the room, Liara taking her hand for a moment to steady herself.

Lord Irtaya’s eyes widened again, a small hint of recognition blooming in his dark eyes. A strangled noise emerged from his throat, and he pressed himself backwards into the bed as much as he could in a futile attempt to escape the hatred in Danriss’s eyes. But he could no longer pretend ignorance, not when faced with the living proof of his crimes. The bastard children he’d sired on an unwilling enslaved woman, ignored, and then sold to cover his shame when the truth was nearly revealed. 

_“How dare you bring them here?” _he wheezed, rage and embarrassment bleeding into his signature, leaving an acrid tinge in her sense.__

_“Wasn’t it enough that you claimed them and dragged my reputation through the dirt?”_

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__“I told you I’d find them. And that we’d make you pay for what you did.” Finlee said flatly. “You just didn’t think I could, as usual.”_ _

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__Lord Irtaya’s breathing was rapid now, and the heart monitor began to squeal its alarm. Finlee reached out and crushed it, cutting off the sound before it got unbearable. Lord Irtaya’s dark eyes switched rapidly between his eldest daughter and the lifesaving machine she’d destroyed as if it was nothing. His fear was rapidly turning to terror, as the truth broke over him: she was not the same woman he’d abused and belittled and neglected, no longer the frightened, broken girl he’d made her. She had walked through the proverbial fire, and instead of consuming her whole it had burned away everything he’d tried to twist her into, and forged her into who she was meant to become._ _

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__“You always said I was useless, worthless. Unlovable. Such awful things, my lord, to say to your own daughter.” Finlee crossed her arms over her chest, and the movement pulled the fabric across her stomach just tight enough to reveal her pregnancy. Lord Irtaya’s eyes focussed with a laserlike intensity on her belly, and she smirked. “For a long time, I thought I deserved them. I thought it was true. It took me a very long time to recognize them for the lies they are, the pathetic weapons of an equally pathetic man.”_ _

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__Lord Irtaya’s eyes darkened with rage at her insult, and Liara squeaked and moved behind Danriss to escape the sight._ _

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“Shut up, girl! You are _nothing! _I should never have fathered you! Perhaps if I hadn’t, she’d still be here, and I would not have to tolerate my own offspring speaking to me with such disrespect!” he rasped out, trying for the thundering tone he’d so often terrorized her with in her youth, but only triggering a fit of hacking coughs instead. “It should have been you who died, not her!”__

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___She felt Danriss and Liara’s spikes of shock and disgust at his words, quickly turning to fury. Finlee, on the other hand, felt nothing. It was nothing she hadn’t heard a thousand times before, and the words had no power over her anymore._ _ _

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___“Are we really going to go through this song and dance again, my lord? I already know it by heart. Shall I recite the steps for you?” she asked coolly, making a show of examining her nails. “If I hadn’t been such an awful child, and minded your commands to stay away from the lake, and not gone in, I wouldn’t have gotten tired halfway to the dock, and then my mother wouldn’t have gone in after me and gotten caught in the weeds where she drowned.” she paused and glanced up at Lord Irtaya’s face, which was rapidly turning a hideous shade of puce. “Shall I continue through the part where I supposedly conspired to murder my unborn brother in order to remain the only heir to the House Irtaya fortune? Or was that thorough enough for you, my lord?”_ _ _

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_“Enough.” ___

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___A new voice spoke, a woman’s voice. Finlee turned around in confusion to see what doctor or nurse would be so bold as to interrupt them, but her eyes widened when a shimmering, translucent form emerged from the dark hallway._ _ _

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___“Who is that?” Liara whispered, also staring. Danriss shook his head mutely, and stepped out of the way of the ghostly woman._ _ _

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___Finlee stood frozen in place, unable to do anything but stare. She’d never seen a force ghost before, lacking her siblings’ abilities with the dead. But this one she could see with perfect clarity, and though the odd monotone blue hue of the woman’s form made it difficult to pick out the details of her face, it was one she had seen so often in holopictures and portraits that she had no issue recognizing its owner._ _ _

___ _

___“Mother?”_ _ _

___The ghost looked at her and smiled gently, bringing up one arm as if to fondly cup Finlee’s chin, though she could not actually touch her. She nodded._ _ _

_“Hello, my darling girl. I had wondered if I’d ever be able to speak to you. There’s so much I want to tell you.” ___

___The ghost turned to face Lord Irtaya, eyes narrowing in anger. She moved towards the bed, somehow projecting the impression of stomping despite her lack of solid form. To the shock of the siblings, Lord Irtaya had tears in his eyes, on the verge of escaping. He drank in the sight of the phantom woman, longing apparent in every line of his form._ _ _

___“Elena? Starshine, is it really you?” he whispered, seeming unaware of her ire._ _ _

_“You don’t get to call me that. Not anymore.” _she snapped, her words lashes from a nerfwhip.__

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_“Not after the way you treated our daughter, or your other children, or the poor girl you forced to bear them.” ___

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___Lord Irtaya’s face clouded, and he looked away, as if he could not bear to meet her gaze. “I-Elena, please, my love, don’t do this. I cannot bear it.”_ _ _

_“ **You **cannot bear it? And what of Finlee? She could not either, but she had no choice, you gave her no choice! You punished her for my death when she did nothing to deserve it!” __****_

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“Mother…” Finlee whispered. Elena turned, and her eyes softened when they landed on her daughter. “I did, though. It obviously wasn’t some conspiracy like he claims, but I did go swimming where I wasn’t supposed to, and you drowned trying to get to me.” Finlee cast her eyes downward. 

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_“No.” ___

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They all looked at her in shock. She was glaring at Lord Irtaya again, who shrank beneath her gaze.

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_“That’s a lie. That isn’t how I died.” _she stalked towards her widower, seething.__

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_“Do you want to tell her what actually happened, Abaddon? Or shall I?” ___

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___“What do you mean? Mother?”_ _ _

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__Elena turned back to face Finlee, and stepped near her. She reached for Finlee’s hands as if to hold them, and Finlee just stared at her with pleading eyes. Elena sighed._ _

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_“Darling girl, you didn’t kill me. You had nothing to do with my death at all. I was sick. The only treatment that would have saved me would have also left me a shell of myself, unable to move or eat or do anything without assistance, and I didn’t want to live that way. I wanted to live the rest of my life as myself, and I wanted you to remember me without being constantly hooked up to machines and tubes.” ___

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The revelation shook Finlee to her core, and her legs felt as if they were made of flimsi. She collapsed into the chair Liara had pushed up behind her and buried her face in her hands.

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_“The swimming incident did happen, that much is true. But I didn’t drown out there. I got you back to shore, but I had overtaxed myself in the process, and my heart gave out.” ___

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Finlee looked up then, past the ghost of her mother to the impending corpse of her lord father. Rage filled her, and her vision grew red around the edges. She stood, forcing her shaking legs to obey her, and took a step towards the bed, then another, and another. The Force gathered around her hand, and she raised it to curl around Lord Irtaya’s fragile neck. She could feel it constricting under her invisible hold, hear his breath come ragged.

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“I wasn’t the cause of her death after all, but I can still be the cause of yours!” she snarled, nearly feral.

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She’d felt this level of rage only twice before: when her siblings had been taken from her the first time, seventeen years prior; and once more not quite three years previous, when Baras had played his favored puppet master games against her using Quinn. She’d paid Baras back tenfold for his actions, and now she would do the same to the monster who’d made her life a living hell.

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She tightened her grip on Lord Irtaya’s neck, incrementally increasing the pressure a tiny bit at a time. She sneered at the emaciated form as it twisted and thrashed on the bed. Just as she’d grown tired of the game and started preparing to end it with a twist that would break his neck, Elena reached out to lay a ghostly hand on her arm, shaking her head silently. It startled Finlee enough that she released her grip, and Lord Irtaya fell back onto the pillow, drawing in great heaving gasps of air. 

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_“Don’t, darling girl. He’s not worth the nightmares it will cause.” ___

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Finlee inhaled, closing her eyes for a moment to steady herself. She nodded. “You’re right. He’s not worth it. He’s not worth a single moment more of my time or my attention.” 

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__At that, Lord Irtaya snarled at her, and rasped out, “I always knew you were weak. Unfit to inherit this House, and unfit to inherit my fortune!” his eyes fell to her stomach, and he leered at the bump where her child rested. “You might be a hopeless failure, but at least my name will live on. I only hope your brat is more worthy of it than you are!”_ _

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__Finlee pressed her palm hard to her stomach and smirked. “I have no doubt that my son will prove worthy of his name. But it won’t be yours that he carries.”_ _

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__Lord Irtaya looked as if he would like nothing better than to leap from his bed and beat her as he had when she was a child, but all he could do now was glare._ _

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__“Your name and your legacy will die with you, Lord Irtaya. Your death will go unnoticed and unmourned, and you’ll only be remembered as the sad, pitiful thing you’ve become.” She took another deep breath, and removed the glove from her left hand. She brandished the back of her hand at him, and watched him turn grey in shock at the sight of her bridal rings. One, the delicate silver troth ring topped with a sapphire Malavai had given her when he’d proposed; and the slim matching wedding band he’d slid onto her finger as the officiant had pronounced them husband and wife. To her, they were a shield; a constant reminder of his love for her and his commitment to all that they shared. But to Lord Irtaya, they were the most potent weapon she could ever have chosen. Physical, incontrovertible proof that his hold on her was forever gone._ _

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“My son will not carry your name, but _mine. _The one I took as my own, the one I share with my husband his father, and I will ensure that no one ever makes the connection between my family and you.” she stated with firm conviction. Her lord father’s face had crumpled, and tears leaked from his eyes and fell down his face.__

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___“No, you can’t! You can’t do this, you can’t erase my legacy like this, you can’t…” he trailed off, his voice growing weaker and weaker._ _ _

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___“I already have.” the finality in her tone brooked no arguments, and she turned to leave as he sobbed. “Danny? Liara? He’s all yours.”_ _ _

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___Her brother stepped forward from the corner he’d been brooding in. A wicked smile slowly spread across his face as she left the room, and when Liara shut it behind her, she heard Lord Irtaya begin to scream._ _ _

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___Finlee looked around, but found herself alone in the hallway. Her mother’s ghost had disappeared at some point without any of them noticing, and she felt a pang of loss. Her own child chose that moment to kick her, and her sorrow turned to contentment. A particularly loud wail from the bedroom made her cringe, and the emotional exhaustion of the day began to set in. She made her way slowly down the stairs, making ample use of the Force to ensure she didn’t fall. A short while later, Danriss and Liara emerged from the bedroom and made their way down to the foyer where she waited, and though no words were exchanged Finlee knew that it was over._ _ _

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___Danriss helped her into the car, and all three were silent as it pulled away from the estate and conveyed them back into Kaas City. Finlee stared out the window, lost in her thoughts. She didn’t even realize that they’d reached the landing pad of her apartment until Liara shook her shoulder. She bid her siblings farewell, extracting promises to call the next day, and when the speeder pulled away again she watched the lights of the city for a long moment. It wasn’t raining at the moment, but lightning arced dramatically across the cloudy skies, followed shortly after by low rumbles of thunder. By Kaas standards, it was a peaceful night, and she let it roll over her and carry away the cares of the day._ _ _

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___Malavai was sitting on the low sofa reading, and looked up when she entered. He didn’t say a word as she removed her boots and hung her overcoat on the stand, only watched her. She approached the sofa, and he held out his arm in invitation. She took it gladly, sinking onto the spot next to him and curling into his body, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her head in his shoulder. He held her close, tracing faint, aimless patterns on the skin of her arm and pressing soft kisses to the crown of her head. His other hand came to rest on her swollen belly, and Finlee sighed, smiling faintly._ _ _

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___She was home._ _ _

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, the name Abaddon actually means "angel of death" in Hebrew, and I'm a sucker for thematic appropriateness. The name Elena means light, and she's where Finlee gets her looks from, so Lord Irtaya called her "starshine" as a nickname before she died.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the funeral of Lord Irtaya, Lady Quinn returns to the swimming pond. She finds her mother there waiting for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, the conversation between Elena and Finlee. I was originally planning for this to be fairly light, but I quickly realized that with the subject matter this covers that was never going to happen.
> 
> Content warning for unhealthy, unbalanced relationships. Nothing explicit, but it's clear what's going on.

The funeral was held a month later. It was an ostentatious affair, of course, with all of the various extended family members appearing in their mourning finery and making a show of their grief. Her cousin Falkis in particular had made a nuisance of himself, but had been quickly silenced. Finlee had stood in the back of the crowd speaking to none of them, grateful for the veil that hid her facial expressions so well. Once the service was concluded, she’d promptly banished her extended family from the estate, their protests quelled by the sight of the burly guards she’d hired for that express purpose.

With their departure, the estate was quiet at last. She hadn’t wanted to enter the house again, so she removed her veil and walked arm in arm with Malavai across the cleared field to the swimming pond. They stood silently in front of it for a while, Finlee lost in thought and he not wanting to disturb her. After a while she heaved a harsh sigh and leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, his hand settling on her waist as he turned his head to look at her.

He squeezed her gently. “This is the place, isn’t it?”

She nodded, but didn’t say anything, just kept staring off across the pond. Malavai pressed a soft kiss to her temple, and leaned his head against hers. She smiled softly for a moment before it faded away. Memories flashed through her mind one after another, mostly seeming to focus on her mother. The memories of Elena Irtaya were fuzzy, indistinct, and few. A warm smile, a laugh, a flash of white hair. 

Out of the corner of her eye, a quick movement caught her attention. She cast her gaze toward it, and gasped when she saw the ghost of her mother moving towards her. She lifted her head from her husband’s shoulder, never taking her eyes off the translucent figure walking towards them.

“Finlee? What is it?” Malavai asked her, his concern spiking.

“My mother…”

Elena stopped a short distance away from the couple, her hands clasped together in front of her long skirt. 

“She’s here? Now?” he asked, glancing around.

“Can’t you see her?” Finlee whispered.

_“No, darling girl, he can’t see or hear me. Only you can.” ___

__“No, I can’t.” he replied, focussing his gaze on Finlee._ _

_“May we speak? I cannot remain like this for long. It drains me.” ___

___Finlee nodded, turned to Malavai, and whispered, “Don’t go too far, but will you give us a moment of privacy?”___

___He nodded, and kissed her cheek before murmuring, “I’ll be just over there. If you need me, just say the word.”_ _ _

___She smiled a grateful smile and nodded as he stepped a few meters away. She turned to face her mother’s ghost, only to find her watching Malavai with keen eyes._ _ _

___“Mother?” she prompted.___

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_“He is your husband, isn’t he? And the father of the child you carry?” _Elena asked.__

___Finlee nodded. “We’ve been married nearly two years.”_ _ _

_“He is good to you?” ___

___Finlee smiled. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner. He’s everything I ever dreamed of and more. I’m very happy with him.”_ _ _

Elena eyed her daughter. _“Just be wary. Abaddon was the same way at first, but once you were born he became an entirely different person. I would hate for you to go through what I did.” ___

___Finlee felt a flash of anger curl in her gut, at the insinuation that her beloved could ever become the sort of monster that her sire was. “I won’t. He’s a good man, a far better one than Lord Irtaya could ever have hoped to be.”_ _ _

Elena, seeing that she had touched a nerve, sighed and held up her hands in concession. _“Finlee, I don’t wish to upset you. I’m only trying to protect you.” _she steepled her fingers in front of her ghostly face, gathering her thoughts.__

_“I just don’t want you to suffer the way I did. No mother ever wants that for her child.” ___

___Finlee pressed a hand to her stomach at that, and her ire cooled. “I understand.” she took a deep breath, and asked, “When you say that he was the same way at first…?”_ _ _

____

_“When I married Abaddon, I adored him as you do your own husband. And he loved me, I truly believe he did. He was always so good to me, showered me with gifts and tokens of his affection. We were completely wrapped up in one another, and so ecstatically happy together.” ___

___Elena came to stand right next to Finlee, facing the pond with downcast eyes._ _ _

___“What changed, then? If you were so happy together?”_ _ _

_“I had a...difficult pregnancy, when I carried you. I couldn’t gain enough weight, and I was always slight to start with. It sapped my strength, until I could hardly leave my chamber. I believe this was the start of Abaddon’s resentment toward you, unjust as it was.” ___

___“He blamed me?"___

________ _ _

_“Yes, though never to my face. I noticed him growing distant, but I assumed he was simply worried and didn’t press him. Looking back, I think I should have, but I don’t know what difference it would have made, if any.” ___

___Finlee looked down, and crossed her arms over her chest. “And then?”_ _ _

____

_“I nearly died giving birth to you, because I was so weak. Abaddon insisted on hiring a team of private surgeons to provide me with round the clock care, and wouldn’t listen when I protested. I was never alone, never given a moment with my thoughts, some doctor was always prodding me or testing something or needing to take my vitals. It was actually a relief when I went into labor, because then my wishes were taken into consideration for once.” ___

___Finlee looked at her mother’s ghost, eyes wide. “Did the doctors not listen to you?”_ _ _

Elena shook her head. _“Abaddon had taken full control at that point. I was too weak to resist, and just hoped that he would return to the man he’d been before once I gave birth.” _She sent a pointed look towards Finlee.__

_“Needless to say, he did not. I hardly recognized him after that; the man I’d married had been charming, gallant, courteous, and warm. Now, he was distant and cold, and he wouldn’t even look in your direction, much less acknowledge you.” ___

___“I would have preferred if he’d remained that way, rather than beating me and trying to sell me off like chattel.” Finlee spat, her anger returning._ _ _

Elena looked at her with sadness on her translucent face, and nodded. _“I cannot blame you for thinking that. Once I recovered from giving birth, he improved somewhat, and I began to hope that things would return to normal, and we could be a happy family together. But a year after you were born, I became ill, and well...you know the rest.” ___

___Finlee nodded, then sighed. “I still have trouble believing that he was ever capable of anything but hatred.”_ _ _

_“I know. He became a completely different person; and I’d never have married him if I’d known the sort of man he was.” _she turned and looked into her daughter’s eyes.__

_“I can’t remain much longer, my strength is growing thin. My darling girl, I failed you before, but I’ll leave you with this: be mindful. The pressure and stress could bring out sides of your husband that you don’t expect or like.” ___

___Finlee closed her eyes and shoved down her sudden anger at her mother’s suspicion of her husband, reminding herself that she was only attempting to protect her as best she could. She opened her eyes again and turned her head to face Elena, and with a slight smirk, murmured, “I think you underestimate the amount of stress we’ve faced together already, Mother. It’s not been an easy time these past five years.”___

__

_“Nothing would make me happier than to be wrong in this case, but I do not want for you to suffer the same sort of betrayal as I did.” ___

___The mention of betrayal sent a pang through Finlee, a wound that had never fully healed, and she was unsure ever would. She swallowed it back down, and ground out, “Mother, listen to me carefully, and heed my words: Malavai would not ever betray me. I trust him, completely, and he is one of the few that I do. Cease speaking of him this way.”_ _ _

___There was no response. When Finlee turned to look, Elena was gone, and there was no sign of her anywhere. Tears gathered in her eyes, as she frantically whirled around in a desperate, hopeless attempt to locate her mother. Malavai approached her now, and once he was close enough she pressed herself against him, burying her face in his shoulder._ _ _

He held her close, pressing her tightly against his frame. She gasped out, “I can’t stay here. I-I need to leave.” 

He nodded, and bundled her toward their car. She stared out the window as they pulled away, and she could feel him watching her, his concern draping over her like a blanket. She sighed softly, and shifted in her seat, before whispering, “My mother...filled in the rest of the story. I think she was trying to warn me, so that I wouldn’t have to go through what she did. I can understand why, but I wish she’d done it another way.” 

He eyed her. “What do you mean?” 

___“Their relationship was also happy, at least in the beginning. It wasn’t until she became pregnant that he revealed his true colours. I think she was afraid for me.”_ _ _

He looked at her. “You know I’d never-” 

“I know. And I told her that, though I don’t think she really listened.” she paused for a moment, ordering her thoughts. “I’ve looked at the records, though. She was so young when she married him, only twenty-one. And he was past thirty. She was twenty-five when she died. She couldn’t really have known how dubious her situation was.” 

“It certainly sounds like an unbalanced relationship.” 

“Knowing him, it was.” she sighed again. 

Malavai reached over and laid a hand on her knee, squeezing gently. “No one should have to go through that.” he paused for a moment, before continuing, “and so because of that, I assume she was rather alarmed at our relationship?” 

Finlee shrugged. “I think so, yes. We have an age gap between us as well, we’ve not been married long, and we’re expecting our first child. This is exactly when her marriage began to go wrong. And she disappeared before I was able to point out the differences between her situation and mine.” 

“Do you think it would have made a difference?” 

“I don’t know. I hope so.” she sighed, and stared out the window for several long moments, watching the landscape roll by. The estate was a long way from Kaas City where they lived, and while it might have been faster to take the _Valkyrie _and travel above the jungle, Finlee hadn’t wanted to attract the attention of the remaining members of House Irtaya more than was necessary. Showing up seven months pregnant and with an officer husband in tow had already more than done that. She idly wondered what her aunts would have done if they’d seen the House Kallig signet ring Danriss had given her when he’d made her a member.__

__Her thoughts returned to her mother. “I wonder if I’ll ever see her again.”_ _

__Malavai glanced at her in mild confusion. “Why wouldn’t you?”_ _

__“She said something about not being able to remain very long. I don’t think she was very strong in the Force; she never went to the Academy or had any training. She must have slipped under the sensors.”_ _

__He nodded, accepting her answer. “Do you want to see her again?”_ _

__She slid down in her seat, leaning against the door. “Perhaps? I mean, she was my mother, and I never thought I’d get the chance to speak to her. But…” she trailed off._ _

__He waited a moment, before prompting her, “But?”_ _

__“But I don’t wish to spend every encounter I have with her defending our marriage and telling her that her warnings are unnecessary.”_ _

__“You said yourself, they were understandable given what she’d been through.” he pointed out, though there was no censure in his tone._ _

__“I know, but I still don’t want to hear them.” she rubbed her forehead._ _

__Malavai furrowed his brow. “What did she say to get you this worked up? She warned you, and there are certain...similarities she clearly observed, but specifically what did she say?”_ _

__“She…” Finlee’s voice cracked. “She implied that you would become like him.” she rasped out, and furiously swiped away the tears that had begun to fall. “She thinks I’m repeating the mistakes she made, but I’m not. She said that the stress of the pregnancy might bring out unknown sides of you I don’t like - those were almost her exact words, in fact - as if we haven’t gone through far more stressful situations than this! As if - as if..” she could no longer speak through the sobs racking her body._ _

__Malavai quickly wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him and pressing her head to his chest. She gripped the fabric of his formal coat, crying into the heavy wool. It was awkward, and their restraints pressed into them uncomfortably, but neither of them let go of the other. He rubbed circles into her back, and murmured soothing words against the crown of her head. Eventually she calmed, but didn’t move out of the protective circle of his arms. She stayed curled against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart._ _

__“I don’t know why I care so much. I don’t even remember her, so why should it matter what she thinks?” she said softly, a hint of bitterness in her voice._ _

__Malavai recognized that she was just thinking aloud, and didn’t respond. He just tightened his hold on her, pressed a long kiss to the crown of her head, smoothed one hand over her hair._ _

__Finlee sighed harshly. She released her grip on his coat in favor of tracing soft circles with her fingertips, and stared into the distance._ _

__“My love, I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re feeling right now. But whatever you need, I’m here, I promise.” he whispered into her hair._ _

__She smiled faintly, twisting her neck so she could look into his eyes. “Thank you.”_ _

__It was all the words she could manage, so she settled her hand against his cheek and brought him down for a long, slow kiss. When it ended, they stayed close, just breathing together._ _

__She nestled into him, calmer now, and closed her eyes, allowing the steady rhythm of his breathing soothe her._ _

__“I love you.”__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor things.
> 
> Finlee gets...touchy about her marriage. She's had to deal with people (mostly Vette, although also from Pierce before he gets the boot) questioning and judging her relationship with Malavai for a long time, and it's become a sore spot for her. She thinks the world of him, and so to hear her mother compare Malavai to Abaddon seriously upsets her.


End file.
